July 11
Events *911 - Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. *1156 - Siege of Shirakawa-den in Japan. *1302 - Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch) - a coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France's huge knightly army. *1346 - Charles IV of Luxembourg elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. *1405 - Chinese fleet commander Zheng He set sail to explore the world for the first time. *1476 - Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances. *1576 - Martin Frobisher sights Greenland. *1616 - Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec. *1735 - Mathematical calculations suggest it was on this day that Pluto moved from the ninth to the eighth most distant planet from the Sun for the last time before 1979. *1740 - Pogrom: Jews are expelled from Little Russia. *1750 - Halifax, Nova Scotia almost completely destroyed by fire. *1776 - Captain James Cook begins third voyage. *1789 - Jacques Necker dismissed as Finance Minister for France sparking the Storming of the Bastille. *1796 - The U.S. takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty. *1798 - The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War. *1804 - Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel. *1811 - Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his memoir about molecular content of gases. *1848 - The Waterloo railway station in London opens. *1859 - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is published. *1864 - Confederate forces attempt an invasion of Washington *1882 - The British Mediterranean fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War. *1889 - Tijuana, Mexico was founded *1893 - The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kokichi Mikimoto. *1895 - The brothers Lumière show film for scientists. *1897 - Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to try to reach the North pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies. *1906 - Gillette-Brown murder inspires Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy *1914 - Babe Ruth debuts in Major league baseball. *1919 - Eight-hour working day and free Sunday made into law in the Netherlands. *1921 - Truce called in the Irish War of Independence; see Irish calendar. * 1921 - Former US President William Howard Taft sworn in as 10th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, becoming the only person to ever be both President and Chief Justice. * 1921 - Mongolia becomes independent (from China). *1922 - Hollywood Bowl opens. *1936 - Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic. *1940 - World War II: Vichy France regime formally established. Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of France. *1943 - Massacres of Poles in Volhynia *1943 - World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily - German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily. *1944 - Franklin D. Roosevelt says he will run for a fourth term as President of the United States. *1950 - Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank. *1955 - The phrase In God We Trust is added to all US currency. *1957 - Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismaili worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III *1960 - Independence of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. *1960 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published. *1962 - First transatlantic satellite television transmission. *1971 - Copper mines in Chile nationalized. *1973 - A Brazilian Boeing 707 crashes near Paris on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 people of the 134 on-board. *1977 - Martin Luther King is posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom. *1978 - Los Alfaques Disaster: a truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists. *1979 - The space station Skylab returns to Earth. *1982 - Italy wins its third FIFA World Cup. *1983 - A Boeing 727 crashes into hilly terrain after a tail strike in Cuenca, Ecuador, claiming 119 lives. *1987 - According to the United Nations, the world population crossed the 5,000,000,000 (5 billion) mark. *1990 - Oka Crisis, First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins. *1991 - A Nationair DC-8 crashed during an emergency landing at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 261. The Canadian charter was ferrying Hajj pilgrims on behalf of Nigeria Airways. * 1991 - Total solar eclipse in Hawaii and Mexico. *1995 - Full diplomatic relations are established between the United States and Vietnam. * 1995 - Srebrenica Genocide: Serb army from Yugoslavia and Bosnia, capture the Bosniak town of Srebrenica. More than eight thousands inhabitants are murdered. It is generally regarded to be the most horrific event in recent European history. * 1995 - A Cubana de Aviacion Antonov An-24 crashes into the Caribbean off southeast Cuba killing 44 people. *2003 - Lahore-Delhi bus service resumed after suspension of 18 months. *2004 - CIA Director George Tenet leaves his position at the agency. *2006 - 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India. Births *1274 - Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland (d. 1329) *1366 - Anne of Bohemia, consort of Richard II of England (d. 1394) *1561 - Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet (d. 1627) *1603 - Kenelm Digby, English privateer (d. 1665) *1628 - Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese warlord (d. 1701) *1657 - King Frederick I of Prussia (d. 1713) *1662 - Maximilian II Emanuel (d. 1726) *1709 - Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist (d. 1785) *1723 - Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and writer (d. 1799) *1751 - Caroline Matilda of Wales, queen consort of Denmark and Norway (d. 1775) *1754 - Thomas Bowdler, English physician and censor (d. 1825) *1767 - John Quincy Adams, President of the United States (d. 1848) *1826 - Alexander Afanasyev, Russian folklorist (d. 1871) *1832 - Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek politician (d. 1896) *1846 - Leon Bloy, French writer (d. 1917) *1851 - Millie and Christine McCoy, Conjoined twins (d. 1912) *1857 - Alfred Binet, French psychologist (d. 1911) *1864 - Petar Danov, Bulgarian spiritual teacher (d. 1944) *1866 - Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1953) *1886 - Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter (d. 1939) *1897 - Bull Connor, American law enforcement official (d. 1973) *1899 - E. B. White, American writer (d. 1985) *1903 - Rudolf Abel, Soviet intelligence officer (d. 1971) * 1903 - Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (d. 1976) *1906 - Herbert Wehner, German politician (d. 1990) *1910 - Irene Hervey, American actress (d. 1998) *1913 - Cordwainer Smith, American writer (d. 1966) *1916 - Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2002) * 1916 - Gough Whitlam, 21st Prime Minister of Australia *1920 - Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor (d. 1985) *1921 - Ilse Werner, Dutch-born actress *1922 - Gene Evans, American actor (d. 1998) *1924 - César Lattes, Brazilian physicist (d. 2005) * 1924 - Brett Somers, Canadian-born actress (d. 2007) * 1924 - Charlie Tully, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1971) *1925 - Nicolai Gedda, Swedish tenor *1926 - Frederick Buechner, American author *1929 - David Kelly, Irish actor * 1929 - Hermann Prey, German baritone (d. 1998) *1930 - Harold Bloom, American literary critic *1931 - Thurston Harris, American singer (d. 1990) * 1931 - Tab Hunter, American actor * 1931 - Tullio Regge, Italian physicist *1932 - Jean-Guy Talbot, French Canadian ice hockey player *1933 - Bob McGrath, American actor *1934 - Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer *1935 - Oliver Napier, Northern Irish politician *1937 - Pai Hsien-yung, Taiwanese writer *1940 - Yvon Charbonneau, French Canadian union leader and politician *1944 - Myra Gale Brown, former wife of Jerry Lee Lewis *1945 - Patrick Joseph McGrath, Catholic bishop *1947 - Bo Lundgren, Swedish politician *1949 - Liona Boyd, English-born musician *1950 - Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani nuclear physicist * 1950 - Bruce McGill, American actor * 1950 - J. R. Morgan, British classical scholar *1951 - Bonnie Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters) *1952 - Bill Barber, Canadian ice hockey player * 1952 - John Kettley, English weather forecaster *1953 - Peter Brown, American singer, songwriter and producer * 1953 - Mindy Sterling, American actress * 1953 - Leon Spinks, American former boxer *1954 - Butch Reed, American professional wrestler *1956 - Sela Ward, American actress *1957 - Peter Murphy, British musician - (Bauhaus) * 1957 - Michael Rose, Jamaican musician (Black Uhuru) *1958 - Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer * 1958 - Andrew Gilbert-Scott, British racing driver *1959 - Richie Sambora, American musician (Bon Jovi) * 1959 - Suzanne Vega, American singer *1962 - Gaetan Duchesne, French Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007) * 1962 - Pauline McLynn, Irish actress *1963 - Al MacInnis, Canadian ice hockey player * 1963 - Lisa Rinna, American actress * 1963 - Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (d. 2000) *1964 - Craig Charles, English actor * 1964 - Kyrill, titular Bulgarian royal family *1965 - Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kickboxer * 1965 - Scott Shriner, American musician (Weezer) *1966 - Greg Grunberg, American actor *1967 - Jeff Corwin, Canadian naturalist and TV personality *1968 - Michael Geist, Canadian academic * 1968 - Esera Tuaolo, American football player *1969 - David Tao, Taiwanese singer-songwriter *1970 - Justin Chambers, American actor *1971 - Brett Hauer, American ice hockey player *1972 - Jussi 69, Finnish musician (The 69 Eyes) * 1972 - Steven Richards, Australian racing driver * 1972 - Michael Rosenbaum, American actor *1973 - Andrew Bird, American musician * 1973 - Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek athlete *1974 - Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer * 1974 - André Ooijer, Dutch footballer *1975 - Willie Anderson, American football player * 1975 - Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer * 1975 - Riona Hazuki, Japanese actress * 1975 - Samer el Nahhal, Finnish musician (Lordi) * 1975 - Lil' Kim, American rapper *1976 - Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-born basketball player *1977 - Javier López, Puerto Rican baseball player *1980 - T.J. Wilson, Canadian professional wrestler *1981 - Andre Johnson, American football player *1981 - Aaron Proctor, American professional wrestling promoter & politician *1982 - Chris Cooley, American football player *1983 - Kelly Poon, Singaporean singer * 1983 - Evan Roberts, American radio broadcaster * 1983 - Marie Serneholt, Swedish musician (A*Teens) *1984 - Tanith Belbin, Canadian ice dancer * 1984 - Hitomi Hyuga, Japanese actress * 1984 - Rachael Taylor, Australian actress *1985 - Aki Maeda, Japanese actress *1986 - Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer * 1986 - Ryan Jarvis, English footballer Deaths * 472 - Anthemius, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire * 937 - King Rudolph II of Burgundy * 969 - Olga of Kiev *1174 - King Amalric I of Jerusalem (b. 1136) *1183 - Otto I Wittelsbach *1302 - Robert II of Artois, French soldier (b. 1250) *1535 - Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg (b. 1484) *1581 - Peder Skram, Danish senator and naval hero *1679 - William Chamberlayne, English poet (b. 1619) *1688 - King Narai of Siam (b. 1629) *1766 - Elizabeth Farnese, wife of Philip V of Spain (b. 1692) *1774 - Sir William Johnson, Irish-born New York pioneer *1775 - Simon Boerum, American Continental Congressman (b. 1724) *1797 - Ienăchiţă Văcărescu, Wallachian writer (b. 1740) *1804 - Alexander Hamilton, United States Secretary of the Treasury (duel) (b. 1757) *1806 - James Smith, American signer of the Declaration of Independence *1825 - Thomas P. Grosvenor, American Revolutionary War soldier (b. 1744) *1844 - Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet (b. 1800) *1909 - Simon Newcomb, American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1835) *1929 - William Mosforth, English footballer (b. 1857) *1920 - Empress Eugénie de Montijo of France (b. 1826) *1936 - James Murray, American actor (b. 1901) *1937 - George Gershwin, American composer (b. 1898) *1959 - Charlie Parker, English cricketer (b. 1882) *1966 - Delmore Schwartz, American poet (b. 1913) *1967 - Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer, politician and judge (b. 1917) *1971 - John W. Campbell, American writer and editor (b. 1910) * 1971 - Pedro Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (b. 1940) *1974 - Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1891) *1979 - Claude Wagner, French Canadian judge and politician (b. 1925) *1983 - Ross Macdonald, American-Canadian writer (b. 1915) *1987 - Avi Ran, Israeli footballer (b. 1963) *1989 - Sir Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor (b. 1907) *1991 - Hitoshi Igarashi, English-Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses (b. 1947) *1994 - Gary Kildall, American computer programmer (b. 1942) * 1994 - Savannah, American porn star (b. 1970) *1999 - Helen Forrest, American singer (b. 1917) *2000 - Pedro Mir, Dominican poet (b. 1913) * 2000 - Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1921) *2001 - Herman Brood, Dutch singer and artist (b. 1946) *2004 - Laurance Rockefeller, American conservationist and philanthropist (b. 1910) *2005 - Gretchen Franklin, English actress (b. 1911) * 2005 - Frances Langford, American actress and singer (b. 1914) * 2005 - Jesús Iglesias, Argentine professional racing driver (b. 1922) *2006 - John Spencer, English snooker player (b. 1935) *2007 - Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States (b. 1912) * 2007 - Alfonso López Michelsen, 32nd Colombian President (b. 1913) * 2007 - Ed Mirvish, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1914) Holidays and observances *United Nations - World Population Day *Flanders, region in Belgium (not a public holiday) - Flemish Day (1302 Battle of the Golden Spurs) *Ireland - National Day of Commemoration held on nearest Sunday to this date (see Irish calendar). *Mongolia - Naadam Holiday *China - China National Maritime Day *Feast Day of Saint Olga (first Russian Saint) *Feast Day of Saint Benedict (founder of the Benedictine Order) *United States: Free Slurpee at 7-Eleven (most locations do this - get a free 7.11oz Slurpee on 7-11). * Bonfire night in Northern Ireland, precursor to The Twelfth External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:July